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Permalink Reply by Ed Sneddon on August 4, 2011 at 13:10

tubs or clinchers?

 

(Almost) any wheels will do - there's a misconception that road wheels are weak. They're a lot stronger than they look provided they have a reasonable number of properly tensioned spokes, plus the majority of loads and impacts in cross aren't actually that high. I'm a rubbish wheel builder, but even my badly home built Open Pros go on and on. The bigger problem I find is mud scouring away the braking surface so that in 2 season, you have concave rims that need replacing.

 

So basically, anything you like, although I'd avoid low spoke count wheels. Factory Aksiums, Fulcrum 5 etc are fine (if a bit heavy, and not great if you want to replace the rim), or you'll never go far wrong with Open Pro (clincher) or Reflex (tub) built up on any half-decent hub.

 

Also look at Strada Wheels, which come highly recommended by several on here.

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Permalink Reply by Lee Shunburne on August 4, 2011 at 17:45

Agreed, can't really go wrong with either Open Pro or Reflex rims.

Ambrosio hubs are very good (and cheap) as are some of the low-cost Novatecs. Both have the advantage of cartridge bearings that you can abuse all winter and replace easily in the spring. I'd avoid factory wheels and their bespoke (sorry) spokes and rims, as you can guarantee you'll need to replace something at some point. OPs/Reflex are easy to get hold of.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Bailey on September 14, 2011 at 8:47

I'm building up a number of tubular wheels for cross at the moment in that price range. PM me if you'd like to know the details - I don't think I'm allowed to openly advertise on here

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